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Seema Biswas and Manoj Bajpayee starrer biographical action adventure movie Bandit Queen was released in 1994 but got banned soon after it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The film then faced multiple objections from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). After two years, Bandit Queen finally hit the silver screens in 1996. It won the Best Feature Hindi Film at the National Film Award. Seema Biswas won the Best Actress award for the film. Shekhar Kapur received the Best Director Award at the 42nd Filmfare Awards. After 19 years of release, the movie has become the talk of the town due to some allegations made by director Shekhar Kapur. Here is what happened. 

Bandit Queen Controversy 

Shekhar Kapur recently alleged that the streaming platform of the movie Prime Video has edited the film 'beyond recognition'. He further claimed that the OTT cut of the film was done without his permission. The controversy sparked when the filmmaker recently reviewed the Netflix web show Adolescence on X. Kapur gave a positive response to the series. Reacting to it, Sudhir Mishra claimed that nobody would let them make such shows. He tweeted, "Nobody will let us do something like that . One should do it as an independent film . Something of our own which is wanders , then stops , digs and goes where the smell takes us." 

Responding to the tweet, Shekhar Kapur then wrote, “I wonder @IAmSudhirMishra if OTT platforms would let me make #BanditQueen the way I made it years ago. The Bandit Queen on #AmazonPrime is unrecognisable from my film. Someone has cut it beyond recognition. And yet it carries my name as Director. And no one asked me! Are we lesser beings than Western Directors? Would they have the guts to cut a Chris Nolan film without his permission?” 

In the same threat, Shekhar Kapur shared that when the producer of Bandit Queen sold the OTT rights to Prime Video, they didn't have any agreement regarding cuts on OTT version. His tweet read, "I didn’t sign anything .. the producer did and he assures me that when #BanditQueen was sold to #amazonprime , he was was neither informed nor did he give permission for them to slash the film they did." 

 

In another tweet, Shekhar expressed his disappointment about the 'careless cut for the OTT release'. He wrote, "The anguish a director and editor go through when editing their films. The days/nights spent arguing, fighting over each edit, each cut. I remember those months with Renu Saluja and myself on #BanditQueen. And then some random person carelessly cuts the film for OTT release? I want to ask this person. Did you even think about the love we give for our art? Did you think about how Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s beautiful was affected as you so carelessly butchered the film? Or the performances in the film from actors? For you were not there when we shot the film in a punishing 50 degree heat. You were not there when we would stay up all night discussing the nuance of each scene, each moment, of the film, before filming it? Of course not .. For we are Indian Film Makers .. so who cares?." 

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta came in support of Kapur's statement. He tweeted, "It is sad to know that a film that should always be India’s pride gets treated this way. But then what’s new? We’ve become so used to being treated as slaves of the west. No protest. No pushback. Total submission. Because they are doing us a favour. Our integrity as artistes is neither protected by us or by a guild that could potentially protect us. The so-called ‘association’ is busy behaving like a political party or stoking divisive propaganda. In the meanwhile directors are rendered powerless and bereft of any support system." 

About Bandit Queen

The story is about the life of a controversial figure and bandit queen Phoolan Devi. The movie focuses on her struggles and talks about the multiple sexual harassment that she faced in her life. It then shows how she became the most known Bandit Queen in the country. The movie featured Seema Biswas, Nirmal Pandey, Manoj Bajpayee, Pradeep Gupta, Aditya Srivastava, Deepak Chibber and Deepak Soni in significant roles. Written by Mala Sen and Ranjit Kapoor, the film was produced by Bobby Bedi. The movie collected Rs 13.87 crore in India and Rs 20.4 crore worldwide.  

Where To Watch Bandit Queen Online? 

Shekhar Kapur’s directorial Bandit Queen is streaming on popular OTT giants such as Amazon Prime Video and MX Player.